Judge Loretta Preska dismissed a putative class action against major record labels on the ground that the complaint failed to allege sufficient facts to establish an anticompetitive agreement under the recent Twombly decision. Plaintiffs, according to the court, needed to demonstrate the lack of a legitimate purpose in the companies dealings with each other and […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Dicover Suit Against Visa/MasterCard Settled
October 13, 2008 – 9:35 am
Update: The parties are confirming that they have agreed to settle the case. No dollar figures have been released. Judge Barbara Jones, Southern District of New York, issued a sweeping and bold decision permitting Discover to reach a jury on its claim that Visa and MasterCard antitcompetitively restrained banks from issuing Discover cards. The case […]
Blue-ray Chip Manufacturer Sues over Licensing of Audio Standard
October 10, 2008 – 12:43 pm
Zoran Corp., a manufacturer of chip sets used to make Blue-ray DVD players, has filed a monopolization case against DTS, Inc., licensor of the technology used to encode audio on Blue-ray discs. Zoran argues that DTS is obligated by the Blue-ray standard setting agreement to license the technology and fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. Zoran argues that DTS […]
IPhone Antitrust Litigation to Proceed
October 9, 2008 – 4:55 pm
Judge James Ware, U.S. Dictrict Court for the District of California, denied Apple and AT&T’s motions to dismiss a putative class action alleging that Apple violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by monopolizing the market for aftermarket iphone applications. The complaint alleges that Apple notified iphone users that downloading third-party applications would void the phone’s […]
Class Action Filed Against Door & Hardware Manufacturers
October 9, 2008 – 2:09 pm
A contractor, Taj Construction, has filed a putative class action in the Western District of Texas against door and hardware manufacturers under Department of Justice criminal antitrust indictments. The defendants, Architectual Products Co., and El Paso Steel Doors and Frames (along with an executive from each company) were recently charged with engaging in a decade-plus long bid-rigging and […]
DOJ/EC & Manitowoc Settle Merger Dispute
October 9, 2008 – 1:53 pm
To resolve Department of Justice and European Commission antitrust concerns with its acquisition of British competitor Enodis, Manitowoc agreed to disvest Enodis’s U.S. ice making operations.
European Commission Upholds Graphite Electrode Cartel Fines
October 9, 2008 – 1:48 pm
Several members of a grahpite electrode cartel challenged the propriety of a December 2003 decision to impose massive fines, but not the liability decision, for a price fixing scheme that began in the late-80s/early 90s. The Commission upheld all of the fines. The fines upheld ranged from 23 million to 43 million euros.
Broadcom Files New Patent Case Against Qualcomm
October 9, 2008 – 12:55 pm
Broadcom has filed a new patent claim in the Southern District of California arguing that Qualcomm has improperly required customers who purchase chipsets for use in cell phone handsets to pay additional licensing fees when the handsets are sold. In Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics, 128 S. Ct. 2109 (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court recently […]
Payment Processing Tying Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss
October 2, 2008 – 11:48 am
A NJ Federal district court denied Chase Paymentech Solution’s motion to dismiss a claim alleging an illegal tying agreement between a payment’s processor and the supplier of point-of-sale payment equipment.
Court Denies Lockheed Martin Motion to Dismiss
October 2, 2008 – 11:44 am
L-3 Communications, a refurbisher of propeller aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin, has alleged that the manufucturer has engaged in anticompetitive practices such as denying L-3 access to government owned tooling and suggesting to potential customers that dealing with L-3 would lead to legal problems. A Northern District of Texas court has denied Lockheed’s motion to […]